Kieran Tierney starts on the bench for Arsenal tonight amid ongoing negotiations with Celtic over a return to Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers is keen to bring the 27-year-old back to the Scottish Premiership champions, and talks between the Hoops, Arsenal and Tierney's representatives have been underway for some time now.
Tierney is believed to have rejected moves to other teams, such as West Ham United, in favour of returning to his boyhood club.
However, before any such transfer is sealed, with Arsenal willing to let him go to free up his wages, he has tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle to think about.
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️ 🔙 Timber returns from suspension 🪄 Trossard on the wing 🙌 Havertz leads the line Let's show our character, Gunners ✊
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 7, 2025
Mikel Arteta has scarcely used the Scotland international, but the defender has been included on the bench in the last few matches after regaining his fitness following a nasty injury sustained at the Euros last summer.
He's among the substitutes again this evening alongside fellow full-back options Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Riccardo Calafiori.
ARSENAL XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Partey, Odegaard, Martinelli, Trossard, Havertz
Subs: Porter, Zinchenko, Tierney, Kiwior, Calafiori, Jorginho, Merino, Sterling, Jesus
